Like others, I really enjoy using the Peco, both insul and electro, and my Santa Fe in Oklahoma railroad has a large number of them. In fact, at last count I have somewhere over 250 track switches on the railroad, a few of which are scratch built (NMRA MMR program), some are Shinohara but the majority are the Pecos.
Those with switch machines (Tortoise) are wired through the machine and give me excellent service, I too remove the spring. Those which are manual, which include yard switches, industrial switches, and the longest mainline which in real life was a dark manual switch line retain the springs, but I also wire them for power.
The layout dates back to 1984 and I have found early Pecos do tend to lose power over time as do the newer ones, so I put feeders everywhere and have excellent operation. In the long run, it depends on how well you build your railroad and how much frustration you are willing to endure if you don't do it right.
Bob
I put jumpers on my code 100 peco switches via tortise machines and I have no shorting problems. I also took out the detent spring.
The first few of my Peco code 75 Electrofrog switches didn't have these jumpers, althought I was using external frog switching via contacts on the Tortoises. Naturally, the one that gave a power loss problem was the least accessable. Since then, for about 6-7 years, I have had no problem with loss of power or with metal wheel shorts on these 36 switches, all of which now have the jumpers.
The jumpers cannot be made on the code 100's without setting up shorting problems at the frog due to the design. But it certainly seems the way to go with 75's and 83's.
Hal
I've ran into so many problems trying to keep the Peco contact tab on their Insulfrog turnouts transferring power to the point rails on a large HO scale club layout that I installed jumpers onto every one of them.
Now I install jumpers onto every new Peco Insulfrog turnout before it is installed.
I have 7 year old Pecos on my modules with not one failure. Very reliable and durable. Some club members have recycled turnouts from older modules. Some of our Pecos are almost fifteen years old and going strong. That's pretty good for a portable layout that gets beat up and tossed around in all kinds of weather.
Pete
I pray every day I break even, Cause I can really use the money!
I started with nothing and still have most of it left!
Greg Shindledecker Modeling the =WM= Thomas Sub in the mid-70s
There is a small spring on each moving blade which makes electrical contact. When new this is usually sufficient to ensure a steady electrical path. With time this is less reliable. The center Z spring that holds the blades in place will also fatigue over time. Of the various brands available Peco is the most self-sufficient and relaible - just not perfect forever.
I would like to know who among you Peco users install jumpers between each closure rail and their respective stock rails or is the Peco turnout built so bulletproof that the points alone are good enough to carry power from the stock rail to the point/closure rail. Thanks
Bob D As long as you surface as many times as you dive you`ll be alive to read these posts.